• Anaheim finished 25th in the league last season and 17th in 2009-10, and would likely have done the same in 2010-11 if not for an absurd hot streak by Corey Perry (who's on a frontloaded deal). They're a team that has been 24th or lower in league attendance in each of the last three seasons despite being within $5 million of the cap in all of them. They're a team that's managed alarmingly poorly, almost running a 40-goal scorer out of town on many occasions and taking an "it'll take care of itself" attitude toward its defense. Their GM has managed what was just a few years ago a very good team pretty much into the ground and seems unlikely to re-sign both or indeed either of Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry, and again, might still trade Bobby Ryan for scrap. "So please," says Ducks owner Henry Samulei, "protect Bob Murray from himself."

Ryan Lambert is nothing more than full of himself. I confirmed that in a brief email exchange, with him, a while back. But you gotta' love watching people like that make that "emperor has no clothes" stroll every now and then.